|
The most accepted terms for this field are Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA). AAT involves
working with someone when a specific goal has been identified. If you do this as a
volunteer, you will work with a professional who will assist you in selecting goals for
different individuals. AAA are those activities designed to strengthen someone's quality
of life. Usually performed by volunteers, they are generally "meet and greet"
activities.
Meet Golden O'Rourke
 White
fluff, a black button nose, and two bright eyes peered
out of the dog crate on the floor of United’s cargo
terminal. I cautiously opened the door of the crate and
out bounded a 9-week old Golden retriever puppy,
O’Rourke. “You’re gorgeous!” I said, and the freight
handlers standing around agreed. O’Rourke was my first
puppy from Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). My
husband and I had signed up to raise him as a service
dog for the next year.
From the very
beginning, he was something special. Nothing seemed to
faze him. He took everything in stride, calmly and
confidently. Learning commands was a snap. When it
came time to take him back to Oceanside, CA for his
advanced training, we were assured that he would be
successful and that he’d never come back to Colorado as
a “released” dog. With lots of tears and tissues, we
bid him farewell and good luck. Imagine our
surprise, ten days later, when we received a call from
CCI, telling us that O’Rourke had been released. Apparently, x-rays had revealed a tiny flap of cartilage
in his left elbow which could potentially cause
arthritis. Within minutes, my daughter (who lived in
San Diego) was on her way to Oceanside to pick him up. O’Rourke came back to Denver and began life as a family
pet. At 18 months of age, he had surgery on his elbow.
He recovered quickly and has never taken a lame step,
before or since.
We had another CCI
pup in training who went everywhere with me. Poor
O’Rourke! He wasn’t used to staying home, with nothing
to do all day. I looked around for something to
challenge him and to make use of his training, his
wonderful calm, friendly temperament, and his outgoing
personality. Delta Society seemed to be the perfect
outlet for him. In 1998, he passed the tests with flying
colors but Delta Society was not well known in Denver at
that time and we couldn’t find any facility willing to
have him visit. It was very discouraging.
 Enter
Diana McQuarrie, and with her, the revitalization of
Delta Pet Partners. O’Rourke began visiting Swedish
Medical Center and seemed to have found his niche. He
loved the attention and having a “job” to do. He seems
to have a talent for relating to people. If the patient
is frail, he tiptoes into the room and puts his chin
gently on the edge of the bed. If the patient is more
robust, he’s all wiggles and enthusiastic greetings. Just this fall, O’Rourke started visiting patients at
Spalding Rehab Hospital in Aurora. We’re hoping that he
will eventually work one-on-one as a therapy dog with
individual patients at Spalding.
O’Rourke has also
mastered the skills of a full service dog, including
turning on lights, opening doors, picking up dropped
items, and pulling a wheelchair. When Canine Partners
of the Rockies (CaPR) was formed in March of 2002,
O’Rourke became its “Demo Dog” and “Practice Partner”. In addition to his
 Delta
duties, he works with CaPR applicants, teaching them the
dog handling skills and commands they will need when
they get their own service dog. Whenever CaPR is asked
to do a presentation to a group, O’Rourke shows what
service dogs can do for someone with a disability. And,
quite frankly, he loves it! After he does his “tricks”,
I usually let him off leash and he visits the members of
the audience, making sure that they let him know how
much they liked his performance. He’s a great
ambassador for CaPR.
 O’Rourke
has one other job. I continue to raise and train
service dogs for CaPR, with the help of O’Rourke. Every
one of the pups that has passed through our house has
cuddled with O’Rourke. He’s like a giant security
blanket for them. If a puppy is insecure riding in the
car, O’Rourke goes along to provide a calming influence
and a good role model.Our initial
disappointment when O’Rourke was released by CCI has
been replaced with the realization that he is actually
touching many more lives than he would have as a service
dog. O’Rourke makes a difference to many people on a
daily basis.
Editor's Note
Just the other day at Spalding Rehab, Janet and
O'Rourke visited a patient with TBI (traumatic brain
injury) who had not been responding to much of
anything. O'Rourke's impact was dramatic and left the
nurses very excited. While interacting with O'Rourke,
the patient became very responsive, had him
snuggling with her in bed and was talking to him and
hugging him. O'Rourke responded in kind, laying his
head on her chest, grinning at her. It has been said
that; "Every human child must learn the universe fresh. Every canine pup carries the universe within him. Humans have externalized their wisdom - stored it in
museums, in libraries, and in the expertise of the
learned. Dog wisdom is inside the blood and bones."
And so it is with you, O'Rourke. We're very fortunate
to have such a wise dog as you and such a skilled and
caring person as you Janet, on the Denver Pet Partners
team. (Janet is the Executive Director of Canine
Partners of the Rockies, an organization which raises
and trains service dogs for persons in Colorado with
disabilities other than visual impairment. We're also
proud to have Janet as Denver Pet Partner's Service Dog
Advisor.)
Reprinted with permission by Diana M. McQuarrie, Executive Director,
Denver Pet Partners, (303) 948-6363
(office) / (720) 359-5421 (fax)
Let Me Meet Another Therapist |
|
